"Chocolate milkshakes just take the cake," Snow complimented the drink dessert standing on a tall glass with whipped cream and cherry on top. She went for the same drink as Casey's as though they were sharing a milkshake. Immediately after their order was put down at their table, she was impressed.
They stumbled to the creamery diner and parlor called Rosanne's, which was a humble place but had a wonderful vibe to it. The geometric triangles in black and white tiles, marble white countertops near the ice cream selections, and cute artwork pictures of their food on the walls. A little bit 1950s with a few modern touches.
She was hungry for the food, picking up the burger, and having a bite. Then she asked Casey, "How are you feeling?"
"Are you checking in with me?"
"Yeah, it's good to check in on others sometimes."
"Still in a weird state, but thank you," Casey quipped.
Snow sighed at the misfortune of his, whether her actions were ineffective and dragging him. It was sore in the butt. "How about we just take a break from the challenges and just talk? Make you feel better?" she suggested.
"Sounds like a way to fill time, sure." His tone was just tired.
She hummed in response, checking out the French fries. "Did you have anyone you admire growing up?"
It was silence; his eyes contemplated, not meeting her eyes.
"You know, there was one who was my next-door neighbor when I was a child. A woman named Ms. Young. She was kind and makes the best pastries. She would always let me have it after she makes it that day. When my parents weren't home, I'd go over to her house. She had a daughter the same age as me, but she lived with her dad. Her name was..." Snow paused as she was trying to recall. "I think it was... Kaitlin?"
Ms. Young was similar to her mother, only more ingenious, and lives for the moment. Her mother shied away from most things and thought too much about what could happen. Ms. Young liked to play puzzles and watch The Bachelor, inviting Snow to do these things with her.
"Ms. Young was always looking out for me and listens to my stories, no matter how unnecessary they seem. I broke my new colored crayons; she buys me a new set. I fell down at school; she checks where it hurts. She's so attentive to these things that I feel better afterward."
She was fond of the little things. "She told me not to be like her when I grow up, and I questioned why. Why wouldn't I want to be a responsible and mature person like her? She was so cool; then she said it was because she failed at love and didn't want me to have the same fate as her. I didn't understand that then, but I think I do now."
She shrugged her shoulder simply. "I said I could feel her love when she cares for me, and that's a pretty good job."
Her mouth pursed. That was all she had to say then she continued eating her burger. She would just eat until that next minute Casey said something. "It wasn't anything as important or as close as yours, but I do remember this one time... I had a PE teacher in eighth grade. He made sure that each of us participates in the activity or sport we have to play... I wasn't really good at anything since I suck at them. Maybe except soccer, but I hadn't played in forever, so I probably suck now."
Snow huffed out a laugh from how amusing it was.
"I didn't know how to exactly get along with other people. Most of them cared for themselves and just see me as this weird kid, I didn't care but when it came to free play with people playing among themselves and forming teams, I didn't know where to go and just stand off somewhere on my own. I thought he was going to tell me to join in with someone, but instead, he said it's all right."
"Really? Why is that?" Snow asked.
"Because he knows how it feels to grow up being alone and not having friends." Casey smiled to himself faintly. "I think he wanted to let me know that being uncomfortable was natural."
"He sounds like a cool teacher."
"He is. We didn't talk much, but I think he observed me and could sense that feeling without having to say it."
"I think when it comes to other people, I had a similar experience, but I was ignored in a group even when I try saying something. I was cut off too short, and they paid attention to others more. I figured I had nothing on for me except a family life at home."
Snow was commented on how shy she was by peers and teachers. Until fifth grade, she barely talked at school. The fear and anxiety consumed her early life, and no one was nice enough to reach out to her, so she settled with children's books and coloring books to cope.
Thankfully, her parents became her aid that she couldn't get from school.
"Even when I finally make myself do something, it didn't feel good enough." The efforts looked futile with her, and she wanted to give up.
From Casey's expression, he didn't know what to say, like he was just perplexed by this information from her. Snow glanced at him weakly, and they just ate in another kind of silence.
It was a point for him, wasn't it? He shared something with her, and that had to be something meaningful. They shared a small moment and could relate to feeling kind of left out.
As she dipped her French fries in ketchup and munched on them, she widened her eyes from what's behind Casey. I'm not exaggerating, am I?
Snow blinked twice in emphasis, but he was real. The guy with blonde hair who looked gorgeous showed up at the diner and parlor, searching for seats.
A young child was tugging at his sleeves, Snow now remembering that little girl was his sister. She pointed to something in her direction, and Snow realized it was to her because that guy looked her way. She wasn't fast enough to turn away, and she froze.
He probably thought she's a freak, and her face would be ruined.
But when they were coming this way, she was flustered. She checked the napkin dispenser for her reflection, fixing her hair. Casey glanced at her confused, but she ignored it and sat her shoulders up.
"Fancy seeing you here," the guy said, the British accent greeting her.
Snow nodded at him. "Hi." With the gaze not just from him, she turned to the young girl. "Hi there," she greeted her kindly.
"I guess she remembers what you look like," the guy referred to the girl beside him.
"I remember her too." Snow smiled at her. "It started with a J, right?"
"Yeah, Josephine."
Snow found herself in a state of stupor; she didn't think that this became another encounter. The rising feeling inside her was telling her something, but she attempted to brush it off. She didn't want to find herself disappointed and crushed in the end. Luck wouldn't stay by her side for too long.
Nonetheless, something about him began again with her tiny, curious thoughts, infiltrating before she gave them permission.
"Since we meet again, I'm Harry," the guy introduced himself, smiling.
That smile was striking her again. "Nice to meet you. I'm Snow."
"What a peculiar name," he said inquisitively.
"And you must be?" Harry directed to Casey, who was just eating silently all this time.
Eyes went on him, and when Casey looked up, he noticed that they were mentioning him. "What?"
"You are?"
"Oh, um, Casey," he mumbled.
"Nice to meet you then," Harry said, and then he felt a tug on his sleeve.
"I want to eat," Josephine told him.
He looked like he was ready to say goodbye after he said "okay" to her.
Could she let a chance like this second encounter slip away again? Her gut feeling screamed at her to do something, to try anything. No, go away. She wanted to say to stop herself. She could be wasting a stranger's time, and it was better to save herself from humiliation, but there may not be the third encounter.
She agreed it would save her time, but she couldn't help herself. "Why don't you two sit with us?" Snow asked.
"Are you sure?" Harry said.
Already too late and not wanting to look like someone who was simple to change her mind, she nodded. "I don't mind."
Harry urged Josephine to sit with Snow, and then he asked Casey, "Do you mind if I sit next to you?"
Without saying anything, Casey scooted over begrudgingly to leave a space beside him empty. Then Harry slid into the booth.
Harry and Josephine first picked up a menu as they scanned through the choices, discussing what to eat with each other. While, Snow and Casey were eating their food, silence stirring between them.
After Harry ordered their food with the waitress leaving their table, he focused his attention back at the two of them.
"So, what are you two?" he asked casually with his arms crossed on the table.
"Oh, we're..." Snow took a glance at Casey, who decided to remain silent as he took a French fry to his mouth, "just acquainted with each other."
"Oh, okay."
"How old is she?" She motioned her head to Josephine.
"She's six years old," Harry replied.
"Is she normally quiet?" Snow wondered.
"Only around strangers. She doesn't like to talk a lot unless she's comfortable."
"Oh, I hope I don't make her uncomfortable... are you?" Snow looked toward Josephine, who just didn't know what to say.
"Don't worry about her. It's normal. If she doesn't talk, she's just observing," Harry explained, which put Snow more at ease.
Snow understood and could resonate with her on not knowing how to act around strangers. She talked about it with Casey, too, just earlier.
Harry's and Josephine's meals were brought to them, and they started eating. Snow was nearly done with hers except for some fries leftover and the milkshake she hadn't tried, taking the cherry out since she wasn't a fan of them.
"You're not a fan of the cherry?" Harry questioned, and she shook her head.
"Not really, no," Snow answered faintly.
"I'll eat them for you," he offered.
"You would?"
She wasn't expecting it, but when he had his hand out and said "yeah," she passed him the cherry. Harry ate it, leaving the stem behind. Snow didn't know why that was so nice of him to do that for her, but she liked that.
Snow sipped into the Chocolate Milkshake and saw Casey was doing it with his as well. When the creamy and rich taste kicked in, it was delicious. "Hmm, Casey, this milkshake is really good. You like yours too as well, right?"
"I guess," he said unenthusiastically.
"Is this your guys' first time here?" Harry interjected, gesturing at them.
Snow nodded. "Yep, this place looks really nice."
"They have amazing desserts here. You should try some of their other ones."
"Like that one?" She pointed at his that looked like a banana split with different ice cream flavors on top drizzling with chocolate and caramel syrup and whipped cream.
"You would love it," Harry boasted. He grabbed his spoon and scooped a piece from his dessert towards her. "You can try it."
Her eyes widened with surprise at him as he held out the spoon for her. This couldn't be a real thing. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, absolutely."
When Snow put the spoon to her mouth to try out how it tasted, it danced with strawberry cheesecake ice cream. "It's lovely."
"Right?" Harry agreed, pulling his mouth to an eager smile.
"I totally want to try more desserts," Snow gushed, his gorgeous features were standing out more as she smiled at him back sweetly.
She got to know a little bit more about Harry. He's the same age as Snow and attended the same university as them. They have had different classes and schedules so they never bumped into each other, but she wished they had. Was it a perfect fate meeting here then?
He was currently majoring in Health Science. In his free time, he liked to take up swimming, reading, and crocheting. Harry mentioned that he had been crocheting for four years now, and he reckoned he could make a perfect sweater.
Snow also tried including Josephine in their conversation by asking her simple questions about herself. Her little voice was just as cute as hearing Harry talked.
"Aww, that's so cute. I love dogs," she said excitedly when Josephine shared about liking to spend time with their dog, who was a breed of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
"What about you? You've been really quiet," Harry said to Casey.
"Um, they're cute," he said, shrugging. Casey shifted in his seat for a few seconds. "Can you move? I'm going to head to the restroom."
"Oh, sure." Harry stood up, allowing Casey to move away as he left them alone.
Harry sat back down and glanced at Josephine. "Do you need to go use it too?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"Let me know when you do."
So not only is he cute, but he's considerate? Snow placed a hand to her cheek, a look of entranced onto her expression as she gazed at him. "You must have a really great brother," she mentioned to Josephine.
Josephine nodded. "Brother is always nice to me."
"Aww, you even call him brother." Snow thought that was endearing and didn't know sibling relationships could be this sweet. She wished she had one.
When she had asked her parents as a preteen, she wondered if she could have another sibling. As much as her parents loved each other strongly, they agreed on not having another child. They wanted to raise a child they could give their attention to and care for, so she could be the best person she was on her own. Her mother thought a small family was the only happiness she needed.
So witnessing the dynamic between the two of them was sweet, and she thought this could exist only in fictional worlds.
"See how great she is?" Harry chuckled.
"Yeah, I'm sure it's because she has someone like you with her," Snow praised him.
"Aww, I don't want to take the credit." He waved off, shaking his head.
He's humble too? Snow smiled harder.
In the next fifteen minutes, her attention was engrossed in Harry and Josephine. Just from talking to him in those span of minutes, he sounded like a decent guy, and she needed someone to pinch her to make sure she wasn't just conjuring a perfect guy up.
Harry placed down the cash on top of the check receipt and brought his eyes up. "I should probably get going now. It's nice meeting you two. Perhaps, I might see you guys when the break is over." He checked the time on his phone.
Snow smiled at him. "Okay."
"And Snow?"
"Yeah?"
"Since we never see each other around University, if you'd like, we can exchange numbers?" Harry asked sincerely.
Her heart leaped up, hearing his question as a little gasp escaped her mouth. "You'd want that?"
"It's always nice to have new friends, so if you'd like to." How could she say no when he looked at her like that?
"Yes, I'd like that."
He handed her his phone. "Punch in your number."
She quickly pressed the buttons and then returned his phone. He clicked on the call button, her phone ringing and quickly ending. "Save it. It's mine." Harry smiled one last time and waved her goodbye. Josephine did the same, and Snow waved at them until they exited out the door.
Snow clutched her phone close to her as she moved her eyes up the ceiling. "I haven't talked to a guy for ages."
Casey cleared his throat, and she gazed at him wonderfully. "It's amazing, right? Is this happening?" When he stared at her longer, she managed to calm down. "Right, I don't want to get too ahead of myself. It's probably just a short phase."
She looked at the new dessert she ordered a while ago from Harry's suggestion as she dipped her spoon into it. "I don't know, but can I at least pretend this can happen to me? I don't even know what's going on," she rambled.
"Thanks for leaving me to boredom while I just sat playing games on my phone," Casey grumbled.
"Oh, did I?" Snow blinked in confusion. "I thought you didn't want to take part."
"I'm not exactly fond of being the invisible one."
"You're not invisible. I'm around, right?"
"Hurry, so we could go home."
"Just let me finish my dessert."
Milkshakes, Desserts, and a cute boy? The combination sounded divine that only she didn't think could come true.
Talking to a guy outside of school was impossible for Snow, but now that was a little bit more than ordinary. If only it didn't become a coincidence, and they could meet up again.
I probably shouldn't expect anything more... that might be too troubled for my heart.
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Beep, beep... I think Snow might be gaining a tiny crush. What do you think of that? Do you like Harry yet? He seems like a pretty good lad in my book.
Halfway finished with Snow and Casey's relationship. Let's crossed our fingers that Snow and Casey will make their relationship flow better.
Also, what do you think of the new cover? Is it okay? The old cover still gets me though.
Please vote and comment as it means the world to me.